Jays Care Foundation to unveil new gym Friday

NEW YORK -- Jays Care Foundation is set to unveil a new gymnasium for the Toronto Kiwanis Boys and Girls Club on Friday morning.

The development was made possible through a $100,000 Field of Dreams grant and will offer Cabbagetown, St. Jamestown and Regent Park youth a supervised space to participate in physical activity.

The Kiwanis Boys and Girls Club impacts more than 1,100 youth through its afterschool, school-breaks and evening programs in the city of Toronto. The club borders Cabbagetown and Regent Park, where approximately 69 percent of the participating families earn less than $20,000 per year.

At the unveiling, Jays Care also is expected to present the Kiwanis Boys and Girls Club with baseball equipment that can be used in launching a program at the club. The ceremony will be followed by a Blue Jays baseball clinic.

Izturis becomes latest Blue Jay to land on DL

NEW YORK -- The injuries continue to pile up for the Blue Jays, as infielder Maicer Izturis was placed on the 15-day disabled list Thursday morning with a sprained left ankle.

The move didn't exactly come as a surprise considering Izturis was noticeably limping around the clubhouse on Wednesday and seemed incapable of putting any weight on the back of his foot.

Izturis has been temporarily shut down from all baseball activities and will be out until at least Sept. 5. Utility infielder Ryan Goins was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo to take his spot on the 25-man roster.

This is the first season that Toronto has been associated with Buffalo, but already the Major League club has promoted 13 players that have played for the Bisons. It's a remarkably high number, but it became necessary with 11 players currently on the disabled list and seemingly constant changes to the starting rotation earlier this year.

Izturis becomes the latest casualty, and his playing time is expected to be divided between Munenori Kawasaki and veteran Mark DeRosa. Goins also will get some occasional playing time while serving as a backup after he hit .257 with 29 extra-base hits and a .679 OPS in 111 games for Buffalo this season.

Izturis is hitting .236 with five homers and 31 RBIs in 106 games, which is just 16 games shy of a career high.

Melky may be sidelined for rest of season

NEW YORK -- Blue Jays outfielder Melky Cabrera likely will miss the rest of the season because of a left knee injury.

Cabrera hasn't played since he left a game against the Angels on Aug. 1. An issue was discovered in his meniscus, and while surgery appears to have been ruled out, he needs an extended period of rest.

The 29-year-old signed a two-year contract during the offseason but so far has struggled with the Blue Jays. He had a .279 average in 88 games, but he had an OPS of just .682 while struggling to cover any ground in left field because of his wonky legs.

"I don't know that for sure, but probably not," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said when asked if Cabrera might return this season.

If Cabrera is officially shut down for the season, he would join right-hander Brandon Morrow and possibly Josh Johnson as players who won't be back in 2013. Even though there are barely five weeks remaining in the season, the Blue Jays don't want to make the same assumption with the rest of their walking wounded.

Toronto hopes that Jose Bautista will return at some point in September, while Colby Rasmus is expected to resume baseball activities on Monday in an effort to return from an injured oblique muscle. Right-hander Steve Delabar also should return before the end of the season, while Drew Hutchison and Kyle Drabek are candidates to be called up in September.

"We'll add a couple of pitchers, at least," Gibbons said of promoting additional players when rosters can be expanded on Sept. 1. "I'm sure there will be a couple of position players, but you don't know when Colby will be back, or Bautista. We'll bring another catcher so we'll have three catchers."